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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148472">for everything</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/muddyrockxo/pseuds/muddyrockxo'>muddyrockxo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strictly Judges - One Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Strictly Come Dancing RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ballroom Dancing, Best Friends, Dancing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Male-Female Friendship, Social Media, Tears, Why Did I Write This?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:41:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,694</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/muddyrockxo/pseuds/muddyrockxo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Shirley criticises the presence of rise and fall in Charlotte and Brendan's tango, Brendan is not happy with her and he shows it. </p><p>This is based off true events, but is heavily dramatised for the purpose of the story.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shirley Ballas/Bruno Tonioli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strictly Judges - One Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898842</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>for everything</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Apart from a few small things, Shirley Ballas was absolutely loving her first series on strictly. She had received some hate for being too technical, and there were a few people that just couldn't warm to her and expressed their negative opinions on her very vocally on social media, but she was trying her hardest not to let it get to her. Doing strictly was an amazing opportunity she thought she never would have and she was determined not to let anything - or anyone - ruin it for her. </p><p>Currently, she was sitting in between Darcey and Bruno, watching as the VT for Charlotte Hawkins and Brendan Cole's dance played. As Charlotte explained on the video how difficult she was finding this week's dance, Shirley turned to Darcey, who smiled at her encouragingly, and to Bruno, who reached under the table and squeezed her hand gently. Shirley smiled - she felt so fortunate that she was doing an amazing job with people who genuinely seemed to like her for her. </p><p>She had known Bruno before she got the job on strictly - she and the Italian went back years, all the way back to 2005 in fact. They met at Dancing With The Stars in America,  where Shirley was a regular audience member because of her son being a professional dancer on the show. Over the years a strong friendship had formed and besides her son Mark and her mother Audrey, Bruno was the first person Shirley told about getting the job on strictly. He had been absolutely thrilled for her, and had given some very useful advice on how to judge - the most important being to be herself.</p><p>"Just be yourself," Bruno had told her when they met for dinner at his apartment in Los Angeles one night, "that's the most important thing. People can work out if you're being fake in five seconds, and trust me, it's not a good look." </p><p>Shirley didn't know much about Darcey and Craig before she got the job, but they had over the last few weeks developed such a beautiful friendship. Darcey was exactly how she had imagined - gentle, kindly, supportive and understanding. She was always there to talk about anything, and Shirley would never forget the way that the former ballet dancer took hold of her hand on the first show and whispered, so only she could hear, "you've got this, Shirl - I believe in you." Craig was nothing like she had imagined - she had expected the Craig that she had watched clips of on strictly. It took her only a few minutes in his company, however, to work out that Craig put on a persona on strictly. In reality, he was warm, bubbly and friendly, extremely talkative, and had a wicked sense of humour. She really had struck it lucky in terms of colleagues and Shirley thanked her lucky stars every day that she got to work with these wonderful humans. </p><p>Charlotte and Brendan stepped onto the floor and got into their positions, and Alan Dedicoat announced them and the dance that they were performing - a tango, set to the song Danger Zone from the movie Top Gun. Tonight was movie week, and so far they had already had Toy Story, Shall We Dance? and The Jungle Book among others. Top Gun wasn't a movie that Shirley knew much about, but she was interested to see this dance. Charlotte had gone wrong during the early stages of her cha cha last weekend and had never really recovered from the mistake - causing her to only score 12. Shirley fervently hoped that she could give her a better score this week, because she truly hated scoring people low. </p><p>The dance was better than last week's disaster, but it still wasn't anywhere near a perfect dance. Shirley watched every movement, jotting down notes here and there about what went wrong and where Charlotte could improve for next time in her flowery writing. They finished the dance to loud applause from the audience, and the dance couple hugged in the middle of the floor, relieved that it had gone better and that no huge mistakes had been made. </p><p>Bruno spoke first, followed by Craig, then Darcey. Shirley was last to speak, and when it was her turn, she tried to speak in a less technical way than she had done the first two weeks. Whereas Darcey had received some negative comments her first few weeks on strictly for her overuse of the words "yes?", "yeah?" and "yah?" Shirley had received hate for giving advice that was too technical. It was something she struggled to stop doing, but she was determined to stop it and be the best judge that she could be. </p><p>"Well, it was a little bit better than last week," Shirley said, deciding to start on a positive note, then give the criticism, then end on a positive note. It was a method called the compliment sandwich technique, where constructive criticism was given between two positive pieces of feedback. She had read about it, and decided to try and apply it when she was judging these couples. </p><p>"Only a little bit?" Brendan snapped. </p><p>"Yep, only a bit," Shirley replied, rather taken aback by his harsh tone. She knew, from conversations with Bruno and watching old clips, that Brendan wasn't afraid to stand up and disagree with the judges, but she hadn't expected him to address her like that. <br/>"Charlotte needs to learn to stand on her own two feet, and I noticed that there was rise and fall. We've established that there's no rise and fall in the tango so we have had to make an executive decision not to use it." </p><p>"Excuse me, I'm sorry but there was no rise and fall in that tango," said Brendan, coldly staring at Shirley. </p><p>"Well you should play it back, Brendan," Shirley replied, actually feeling a little uneasy. She hated confrontations of any kind, and his cold glare was scaring her slightly. </p><p>"Oh, I will my dear," he responded, in a tone that Shirley thought was rather patronising. </p><p>Seeing that his friend was taken aback and looking hurt and uneasy, Bruno slipped his arm around her and spoke again. </p><p>"She's right, Brendan," he chipped in, coldly. "You should be more respectful to a lady." </p><p>The crowd went wild at that comment, and Brendan said no more. As the New Zealand born professional dancer led his partner up the glittery staircase, Shirley smiled up at Bruno gratefully - he really had saved that situation. The Italian gently rubbed her shoulder, sensing that she was shaken. </p><p>The rest of the show went well, with some of the best dances coming in the second half (including Alexandra's My Fair Lady themed American Smooth and Aston and Janette's Trolls-themed cha cha), but Shirley was shaken up now and felt a lot less confident in her abilities. She over thought her critiques, found herself stuttering at a few intervals, wondered whether she should point certain things out. Should she point out a massive mistake that she noticed in Richard's pasodoble, or should she keep quiet about it? Admittedly, Dianne seemed less feisty than Brendan, but still... </p><p>There was an hour long break between the main show and the results show, and although the whole Brendan thing had shaken her up, Shirley couldn't resist almost slipping backstage with Bruno. Bruno was always so full of energy, especially on strictly Saturdays, and that was one of the many things Shirley loved about the Italian. </p><p>But as they practically skipped backstage after the results, Shirley and Bruno (Darcey and Craig had rushed off up to the VIP section, Darcey to talk to her sister Zaylie and Craig to talk to his friend who had come to watch) came face to face with Brendan in the corridors. Bruno squeezed Shirley's hand tight, but Brendan still advanced on her.</p><p>"You arsehole," he snapped, pent up frustration at not scoring high bursting out of him. "What kind of judge are you?! The queen of Latin? Eh? No way! You know nothing! And if you don't give Charlotte and I better scores then the whole world will think you're just biased." </p><p>And with that, he stormed off, presumably to find Charlotte. </p><p>To try and distract herself from crying, which she was dangerously close to doing at this point in time, Shirley switched on her phone. This turned out to be a massive mistake, as notification after notification popped up on her screen - many of them negative tweets that she had been tagged in. Although she knew that it was probably a bad idea to read all the negativity, she couldn't help herself, and as she scrolled her way through the tweets, she became even more upset. </p><p>shirleyballas, what kind of judge are you? You know nothing!</p><p>Shirley was an absolute bitch tonight... Brendan was right to stand up for Charlotte. </p><p>Brendan was right to stand up for Charlotte... Shirley out of order. </p><p>Shirley is the bitch... don't like her #bringbacklen </p><p>Too harsh, too fake. Shirleyballas, for the greater good of our population fuck off back to America... no one wants you here. </p><p>That was it. The tears began to spill down Shirley's face before she was able to stop them. Bruno saw them and quickly led her to her dressing room, where he locked the door, sat her down on the sofa, pulled her into a big hug and let her cry out the pain. </p><p>"Shhh," he whispered every so often, kissing the top of my head. "Don't you dare believe any one of those tweets, all right? Brendan has always been like this - he just can't take constructive criticism. But trust me... trust me on what I'm about to say, Shirley, because as you know, I don't lie... you are the perfect replacement for Leonard." </p><p>"I'm obviously not... just look at what's being said about me...!" </p><p>"Shirl, half of those people are profiles with only two followers and no profile picture. Please, I know how you feel, but don't take any notice of them. Hey, can I tell you a story?" </p><p>The door opened at that moment and Shirley tensed up, not daring to look up as she knew that, at this moment in time, she looked a complete state. </p><p>"Darce, could you give us some time alone please?" Bruno said in as polite a voice as she could muster, and Darcey nodded, exiting, although she still looked worried. </p><p>"Hey, it's okay, that was only Darcey. What I was going to tell you was, when Leonard left, I was so upset. I honestly dreaded hearing who was going to be announced as the new judge, because I just didn't think that anyone could ever compare to him. But they did - that person being you. My darling, I know how hard it is when everyone seems to have it in for you... trust me, I've been there and done that... but I promise you, so many people love you. So, so many people. So please... don't be upset."</p><p>And with that, he fell silent. He simply sat there for a while and held her as she sobbed into him, wanting nothing more than to reply to all those haters and tell him exactly what he thought of them for upsetting his friend, but knowing that that was probably a bad idea. </p><p>"What happens if Brendan and Charlotte are in the dance-off?" Shirley asked suddenly, through the tears. "What are they going to think of me if I vote them off?" </p><p>"If they are in the dance off, you do what you would do in any other dance off. You pick the couple who danced better. And then you don't go on social media, and you don't let them get to you," Bruno replied, gently but firmly. "Shirley, seriously, don't read any more of those comments. Don't search your name on Twitter... and yes, I know you do that, so don't try and tell me that you don't. Don't look yourself up on Google and read all the shitty articles that the Daily Fail may or may not put out. Don't reply to any of the haters, because generally nothing comes of arguing with people like that. I know how hard it is, but just don't read it. Don't let that negativity into your life, okay? The most important thing is that there are people out there that love you and support you, and that's the people you've got to focus on. Hand me your phone."</p><p>"Huh?" </p><p>"Hand me your phone. Don't worry, I'm not going to go all psychopathic on the haters... although it's very tempting indeed to do so." </p><p>Shirley handed Bruno her iPhone and Bruno immediately logged into Twitter, doing the very thing that he had just advised his friend not to do any more and searching her name. He scrolled past all the disgusting hate comments, picking out all the positive ones featuring the head judge's name, and began to read those ones out loud. </p><p>"Shirley Ballas is one of the best things ever to happen to strictly," he read, stroking his hand through Shirley's long hair. "Brendan was extremely arrogant tonight... Shirley knows her stuff and there was definitely rise and fall in that tango. Shirley Ballas was completely correct, Brendan has always been this way. We love Shirley!" </p><p>He read a few more similar ones, before putting the phone back down and sitting Shirley up on the sofa. </p><p>"Did you hear those? They're the kind of comments you've got to focus on, okay? They're the true fans. People who comment such vile abuse on a social media platform are not your fans, so don't even consider them that. Promise me one thing?" </p><p>"What's that?" Shirley asked, reaching for some tissues, done with crying. </p><p>"Promise me that you'll at least try to stop reading nasty comments about yourself and focus on the positive.. and stop replying to the haters, giving them what they want?" </p><p>Shirley thought about it for a moment. Not searching her name would be difficult - it was a habit of hers, something she often did without even really thinking about it. It would also be difficult to stop replying to haters - though she knew that she shouldn't really do it, she felt a constant need to defend and prove herself. But the look in Bruno's deep brown eyes made her nod her head and say, "yes, I promise." </p><p>"Good for you, twirly Shirley," Bruno used another nickname of hers. "I'm only saying these things because I love you dearly and I don't want your strictly experience to be completely ruined by Brendan and a load of lowlifes on social media. Now, let's get you to make-up, all right?" </p><p>"I look so ugly now, don't I?" Shirley let out a dull laugh, as Bruno pulled her up from the sofa. </p><p>"No, you don't at all," Bruno reassured her - and it was true. Though her eyes were swollen and red from crying, and her face was blotchy and her make up had run... she still looked gorgeous. "Come on, let's go. And Shirley...?" </p><p>"Yes, Bruno?" </p><p>"If Brendan tries any more funny business with you, let me know immediately, okay? I'm not afraid to put anybody in their place." </p><p>Shirley chuckled - she knew this full well. One time when Darcey had been going through a tough time in her life, Bruno had invited her along to Los Angeles with him to try and take her mind off everything. As they walked back from filming Dancing With The Stars, some paparazzi had followed them relentlessly asking questions, and Darcey had become emotional. After politely asking them to stop taking photos hadn't worked, Bruno had become quite irate, to say the least. It wasn't his finest moment, and it had been published in the papers, but he was glad that he had stood up for his best friend. </p><p>"I will," she promised, as the Italian led her to make up to get herself glammed up ahead of the results. </p><p>.. </p><p>As the ominous music started playing, Shirley felt almost as nervous as the celebrities and pros who were waiting to hear whether or not they would dance next week. Bruno had admittedly made her feel slightly better, but the thought of potentially having to vote off Charlotte and Brendan scared her. And based on points from earlier that night, there weren't many people that the two of them could take on and win against unless they drastically improved and the other underperformed. Charlotte and Brendan were third from bottom on the leaderboard - only Ruth and Anton, and Richard and Dianne were below them. If they were going to win in the dance off, then they either had to perform really well - or get put against either Ruth or Richard. </p><p>But what were the chances of that..? Ruth was with Anton, possibly one of the most popular professional dancers in the whole cast, and Richard wasn't the best dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but was entertaining and had a great attitude towards the competition, not taking himself too seriously. Shirley just hoped fervently that they would be voted safely through to next week by the general British public.  </p><p>"Back to dance again next week is... Charlotte and Brendan!" </p><p>Shirley breathed an audible sigh of relief, and Bruno squeezed her hand under the desk, smiling at her to put her at ease once more. </p><p>With that result, Shirley relaxed and enjoyed the results show. There was an amazing professional dance, and then there was live entertainment, and then Dance Debrief - one of Shirley's favourite parts of the show, where she and her co-judges went upstairs to the Clauditorium and talked more in detail about certain dances from earlier. It transpired that Richard and Dianne and Davood and Nadiya were in the dance off, and after both couples performed their routines once again, the judges unanimously voted the latter through.</p><p>"Do you want to go and get pizza?" Bruno asked his co-judge, as they headed backstage as the cameras stopped filming. </p><p>Shirley nodded, smiling. It was their little tradition, the judges that was, to go and get pizza together at the pizzeria opposite Elstree studios after a strictly show. It was open all hours, and so was the perfect place to get some quick and easy food before going home to sleep after a long day. </p><p>Craig and Darcey agreed to join too, and just as Shirley and Darcey had finished getting changed back into their regular clothes, Bruno put his head round the door, smiling. </p><p>"Are you ready to go, ladies?" he asked, to which Shirley and Darcey both nodded. </p><p>"Then let's go," he said, still full of energy even after the long day he had had. Strictly Saturdays certainly weren't short days - they started mid morning and went on late into the evening, and often, the judges didn't get back to their respective homes much before 2 in the morning. </p><p>With that, they all linked arms and walked across the road to the pizzeria. Inside, Anton, Kevin and Pasha were sitting inside a small booth, chatting about how the show had gone. This was normal; whenever they went in there was always at least one other Strictly related person in there. It was a popular place with the strictly gang. </p><p>"Hi, Darcey!" Brendan smiled, suddenly coming out of the bathroom, causing Shirley to stiffen. </p><p>Of all the people that could be in here.... she thought, as Darcey politely smiled and waved back at him. </p><p>"We're just getting takeaways so won't be here long, otherwise we would invite you to come and sit with us," Anton explained. </p><p>"Shirley-bird," Shirley absolutely cringed at the nickname, "do you mind if we speak alone?" </p><p>"If you're going to speak to her, I'm coming too," Bruno said firmly, holding onto Shirley's hand gently but firmly. </p><p>"I'm not going to hurt you!" Brendan laughed, "we just... we need to talk." </p><p>And pulling Shirley aside, Bruno staying a little distance from them so he could hear what was being said, Brendan began to talk. </p><p>"Thanks a lot," he snapped. </p><p>"What's wrong?" Shirley asked, twisting her hands together underneath the table. "You got through..." </p><p>"Yeah, we did, thanks to the public," Brendan said viciously. "What I meant was, thanks a lot for only giving Charlotte and I a four. We've been working so hard in training all week, doing hours and hours... do you even know how hard that woman works..? And you give us a four. Does a lot for her already hardly existent confidence." </p><p>"Brendan, we've been through this ten thousand times," Shirley said patiently. "I'm a judge. It doesn't matter how self conscious she is, I am a judge. And I am not going to give you high scores just because Charlotte doesn't have confidence in herself. That's not what we are here for." </p><p>"You just don't want to give us the scores we deserve," Brendan said nastily. "Shirley Ballas, what do you know about dance anyway? Queen of Latin? Huh! Well you obviously aren't, seeing as you're convinced that there was rise and fall in that tango tonight..." </p><p>"If she didn't know anything about dance, Brendan, she wouldn't be on the panel," Bruno walked over and snapped, seeing Shirley's eyes were close to filling with tears once more. "And she's right. She isn't going to give you high scores just because Charlotte has low self esteem. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, Craig and I gave you the exact same scores as Shirley did. Grow up, Brendan. You've done enough for one night, now just leave us all alone." </p><p>Mercifully, at that second, their takeaways came, so Brendan gave Shirley one final dirty look and stormed out. </p><p>"Sorry about that," Anton said apologetically, and left with the rest of them. </p><p>"That's okay," Bruno smiled, and led Shirley over to the booth where Craig and Darcey were sitting. They had decided to stay out of it, let Bruno deal with it in the Bruno way. </p><p>"Thank you so much for doing that, Bruno," Shirley murmured, after they ordered their pizzas and waited for them to arrive. </p><p>"You're more than welcome, Shirl. I promised you that I wasn't afraid to put anyone in their place, didn't I?" Bruno winked at her. </p><p>"He's totally correct on that one," Darcey nodded, and everyone laughed, even Shirley. </p><p>.. </p><p>"And next up tonight is Charlotte Hawkins and her partner Brendan Cole!" </p><p>Week four had come around quickly, and Shirley was sitting between Darcey and Bruno once more. She immediately felt nervous as their names were said, hoped that by some miracle the jive would be Charlotte's dance, that she would really connect with it and perform it flawlessly. As the VT played, where Brendan explained that the dance was going to be wedding themed and jokingly asked Charlotte's husband if he could "marry" her for this dance, Bruno gently took Shirley's hand under the table and squeezed it. As he did so, with his other hand, he wrote a small note on the notepad that he used to jot down his observations during the dances. Shirley peered over and read, in Bruno's handwriting that seemed to change style with every word: </p><p>If he disrespects you and your opinions, I'll do the same as I did last week, okay? You're my best friend and I love you, and I'm not having him hurt you again xx</p><p>Shirley beamed at him, right as Brendan and Charlotte took their positions on the floor ready to dance. Alan Dedicoat announced them as he always did, and with that, the dancing began. </p><p>It wasn't a perfect dance. It was better than the disastrous cha cha and the tango that had contained rise and fall, but it wasn't anywhere near perfect. Shirley jotted down a few notes on the dance and just hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat of last week. </p><p>As Tess came to her, Bruno squeezed her hand tighter under the desk, discreetly so that people wouldn't see. After the articles that had already been written about Shirley since she joined the show - including ones saying that she was feuding with Darcey and a particularly unsavoury one that her ex-husband Corky wrote about her being an intolerable partner - he really didn't want another one written about her. One that claimed him and her were dating - despite the fact that Bruno was completely, utterly gay and had never felt any romantic feelings towards a woman in his life. </p><p>"Well, first of all, on a positive note, the dancing has improved" Shirley said, deciding to try the compliment sandwich tactic once more. "However, there was way too much time wasted at the beginning that could have been filled with more jive steps." She went on to talk about some other small errors that she had noticed, not looking Brendan in the eyes, rather focusing on Charlotte. When she finished, she dared a look at Brendan, and whilst he didn't look impressed, at least he wasn't arguing back. </p><p>As Craig went on to talk about how he personally thought the dancing was laboured and lacklustre, Bruno scribbled another note on his pad and discreetly nudged Shirley. </p><p>Proud of you, Shirl xx </p><p>That made Shirley smile as Charlotte and Brendan went up the stairs, ready to receive their score. </p><p>.. </p><p>"So that means Joe and Katya, and Charlotte and Brendan... one of you is safe, and one of you is in the dance off. The couple that must fight for survival is..." </p><p>Before the name of the couple in the dance off was announced by Tess, Shirley knew exactly where this was going. </p><p>"Charlotte and Brendan!" </p><p>So that was it. Against Davood Ghadami, who had already been in one dance off this series but actually had quite a lot of talent, Charlotte would have to dance amazingly in order to beat him. Shirley hoped that, seeing as Charlotte beating Davood wasn't likely, her vote wouldn't have to count... that the others would vote unanimously. However, she would still be asked by Tess who she would have saved... oh God, should she make up a lie and say that she would have voted Charlotte and Brendan through? Or should she just be honest and risk Brendan's hatred for her intensifying...?</p><p>As Craig gave Charlotte and Brendan some advice on how to improve in the dance off, Bruno picked up his pen and began writing yet another note on his notepad. Nudging Shirley again, this time it read: </p><p>Just be honest and vote through who you would vote through even if Brendan hadn't done what he did last week. Remember how you said when you got the job that you'd never lie to a contestant? Stick to that okay? And I'll be there if he tries anything xx</p><p>This time, Shirley wrote back a brief message on her own notepad. </p><p>Okay I will. Thanks Bruno xx</p><p>Both couples performed their dances once again, and it was evident which couple should go through. Davood's Viennese waltz was just... better. It was so much smoother than the night before and even more elegant and there were little to no mistakes. Charlotte improved - she probably danced the best that had danced all series. Her confidence also seemed to grow, and for the first time since her debut foxtrot, Shirley felt as though she truly enjoyed the dance. But she just didn't quite match up to Davood and Nadiya, so Shirley knew what she had to do. </p><p>Craig voted Davood and Nadiya through to the next week, saying that Charlotte had improved, but Davood had given the overall better performance in that dance-off. Darcey agreed, and so did Bruno, so Shirley's vote wouldn't have to count, which she was relieved about. However, she knew she still had to say who she would have voted. </p><p>"And though it makes no difference, Shirley, who would you have chosen to save?" Tess asked her, and without looking at Brendan, Shirley replied, "for a better performance overall, I would have saved Davood and Nadiya." </p><p>She hoped that Brendan wouldn't say anything to her like he had done last week when they got backstage. It was actually worse. As they passed one another on the way to their dressing rooms, Brendan just gave Shirley a cold glare and said in a low voice, "thanks a lot, Ballas. Thanks a lot." </p><p>"You did the right thing, Shirley," Bruno said softly to her, leading her away. "I'm proud of you. Hey, you did it! Look, why don't you go and get changed and I'll come and knock on your door when I'm ready to go for pizza? Darcey and Craig already have other commitments tonight but I thought we could still go?" </p><p>Shirley nodded and she did as she was told, heading into her dressing room and getting changed back into her regular clothes. But whilst she waited for the Italian to come and knock on her door, she couldn't stop herself from going on social media and searching her name as she so often did. She knew that what she saw there would upset her, make her feel worse about herself, but she couldn't help but look all the same. </p><p>Of course Shirley would vote to send Charlotte and Brendan home, her bias is so obvious and it makes me sick </p><p>As I said last week - shirleyballas, fuck off back to America </p><p>Shirley doesn't know what she's talking about </p><p>We all know that Shirley only - </p><p>"Shirley? I'm ready," Bruno called through the door. </p><p>Shirley didn't realise she was crying until she opened the door and Bruno immediately sighed, "you've been searching your name again, haven't you?" </p><p>"No," she tried to argue, but she knew she couldn't fool Bruno. Bruno was the hardest person in the world to lie to - he always seemed to know. </p><p>"Shirl, I told you last week, you need to stop searching your name," he sighed, as they walked out to the pizzeria. "I get why you do it, I really do, but you don't need that kind of toxicity in your life. You're doing amazing, and tonight you made exactly the right decision, I promise you. I was proud of you - I am proud of you. But please- stop going on Twitter and searching your name, because you don't need it. Okay?" </p><p>"Easier said than done, but I'll try," Shirley nodded, more to make Bruno happy than anything else. </p><p>"Good for you," Bruno put his arm around her, "and now, to take your mind off this, we are going to go to the pizzeria." </p><p>"And what if Brendan's there?" She said it more harshly than she had ever intended. </p><p>"Then we ignore him. But he won't be there, because he's gone home with his wife. More than likely to sulk. Regular sunbeam he is." </p><p>Shirley cheered up a bit at that, and walked over to the pizzeria quite happy with her friend. </p><p>And as they sat eating meat feast pizza and chatting, Bruno hoped that this would be the end, that things would get better from here on out. </p><p>.. </p><p>Two weeks passed, and it did get slightly easier. Shirley learned to stop searching her name as much, and not to mind so much that not everyone liked her. She focused on the fans, with the help of Bruno Tonioli, and smiled a lot more, even when people did send hate comments. Week 5 actually passed without much hate. A few comments came in regarding her comment about Jonnie Peacock having a spring in his step, but apart from that, most people were focused on Craig's Bruno impersonation - in which he gesticulated wildly, spoke in an accent freakishly like Bruno's, and ended with falling off his chair. </p><p>Currently, it was week six, and Bruno and Shirley - dressed as Beetlejuice and Cruella De Vil respectively - were waiting backstage together to be called on. As they were talking about who they thought would do well tonight, suddenly, Shirley heard Brendan's voice coming around the corner. </p><p>"At least I still get to dance in the group dance this week," he said, with a malicious look at Shirley as he passed her. "No thanks to this one, who voted me out." </p><p>"Get over it, Brendan, it's been two weeks and plus, Shirley's vote didn't even count," Bruno snapped. "I see you're not shouting at Darcey and Craig about it - and don't you dare. If you want someone to blame for it, blame me. I don't give a fuck what anyone says to me. Now, why don't you go and get ready for the group dance that you're in?" </p><p>Brendan stood there speechless for a moment, then nodded and walked off to join the rest of the professionals. Bruno smiled triumphantly. </p><p>"You genuinely didn't have to do that, Bruno," Shirley said, as the pros stepped onto the floor ready to begin their dance. </p><p>"Yes, I did," Bruno responded. "You know that I couldn't give a fuck what anyone else thinks of me. Now, forget about him. He's just a bad loser who will continue this on and on so that people will pat him on the head and go "poor Brendan, he deserves to still be in it with Charlotte". We are going to judge tonight and we are going to enjoy every single second of it. And-" he leaned in closer, "you know what?" </p><p>"What?" </p><p>"Tonight, you're not Shirley Ballas. You're Cruella De Vil, evil villain who skins puppies and couldn't care less about it. I'm Beetlejuice, not Bruno Tonioli. So when you're out there tonight, don't worry about what people think of you. Because you're not Shirley Ballas tonight, are you?" </p><p>Shirley gave a laugh. "No, I'm not. Thank you, Bruno." </p><p>"For what?" Bruno asked, as they got ready to make their entrance. </p><p>"For everything." </p><p>And that night, Shirley had the best night of her strictly experience. And when she came off at the end after the results, she didn't even think about searching her name and looking at all the negative comments. </p><p>Nope. Instead, she went off to get dinner with her best friends, feeling happier than she had ever done before. </p><p>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was a long one, and if you've reached the end, I really hope you enjoyed this. This is definitely one of my proudest pieces of work so far, and I absolutely loved writing the friendship between Bruno and Shirley. This was actually taken from the original time of my life, but edited HEAVILY - I doubt its even recognisable that it's from there now lol. </p><p>I really hope you liked it! Let me know whether you liked it too or whether you didn't 💕</p><p>I'll be publishing another Shirley and Bruno central one soon in this book, set after Aston's elimination, so look out for it 💕</p><p>If you have any requests, let me know. I'll be publishing a Craig and Jonathan only one shot book soon, so if you have any ideas for stories centred around them I'll post them in a separate book. If you have any requests for this book though, about one or more of the judges, then do feel free to comment and I'll do my best to write them!! </p><p>Thank you for reading, and stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned (that's literally become my catchphrase now lol) 💕</p></blockquote></div></div>
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